1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a surfactant component and a composition including the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a surfactant component including a first surfactant, a second surfactant, and water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, consumers prefer textiles that appeal to their somatic senses (e.g. touch) with a desirable degree of softness. Often, laundering reduces the softness of textiles such that consumers may perceive laundered textiles as rough or scratchy. Compositions including fabric softeners/conditioners are often used during laundering to preserve the softness of the laundered textiles. Contemporary fabric softeners/conditioners may include water insoluble components including cationic active ingredients for preserving the softness of the laundered textiles. Water insoluble components, as referred to herein, generally have a water solubility of less than or equal to 1000 ppm at 25° Celsius.
A common problem associated with the use of water insoluble components is their poor dispersion in and tendency to separate out of water, even at low concentrations. Poor dispersion in and separation of the water insoluble components out of water greatly reduces uniform dispersion and deposition of the water insoluble components on laundered textiles. Reduced dispersion and deposition of the water insoluble components on laundered textiles results in ineffective preservation of the softness of the textiles. Therefore, use of water insoluble components in compositions is traditionally limited to low concentrations, which is not suitable for effectively preserving the softness of the laundered textiles as desired. Further, low concentrations of water insoluble components in compositions increases overall shipping costs as the compositions must be heavily diluted with water.
A number of approaches have been developed in an effort to improve dispersion of water insoluble components in compositions. One approach is to add a surfactant component comprising a surfactant and water to the compositions. The surfactant may include alcohol alkoxylates. Particularly suitable alcohol alkoxylates include those that have a high degree of alkoxylation. However, alcohol alkoxylates, and especially alcohol alkoxylates having a high degree of ethoxylation, have a tendency to gel in water even at low concentrations. Gelling of the surfactant component is undesirable as gelling also requires heavily diluting the surfactant with water, which increases overall shipping costs. Additionally, gelling of the surfactant component further inhibits adequate dispersion of the water insoluble components in the composition.
Additional processes are often necessary to ensure that the surfactant component remains a flowable liquid, and to further ensure that the water insoluble component is adequately dispersed in the composition. One approach to prevent gelling of the surfactant component requires long periods of mixing to dissolve the alcohol alkoxylates in water. Such long periods of mixing are only moderately effective at preventing gelling and slow production of the surfactant component while increasing production costs. Regardless of how long the surfactant component is mixed, alcohol alkoxylates having a high degree of alkoxylation greater than 30 moles of ethylene oxide per molecule will typically gel when present in an amount in excess of 15% by weight based on the total weight of the surfactant component.
It is known in the art that gelling of alcohol alkoxylates having a low degree of alkoxylation in water can be decreased by incorporating an additive with the alcohol alkoxylate. For example, alcohol alkoxylates having from 1 to 25 moles of alkylene oxide have been combined with alcohol alkoxysulfates to decrease gelling of the alcohol alkoylates in water. Additionally, alcohol alkoxylates having from 3 to 10 moles of alkylene oxide have been combined with polyhydric alcohol to decrease gelling of the alcohol alkoxylates in water. In another example, an alcohol alkoxylate having from 3 to 30 moles of alkylene oxide is combined with a different alcohol alkoxylate having from 3 to 30 moles of alkylene oxide. However, such approaches have only involved alcohol alkoxylates having a low degree of alkoxylation of 30 moles or less of alkylene oxide per molecule, and such alcohol alkoxylates having a low degree of alkoxylation are insufficiently effective for dispersing water insoluble components in water. Further, it is not known if incorporating additives into the surfactant component can interfere with or compromise performance of alcohol alkoxylates having a high degree of alkoxylation in dispersing water insoluble components.
In view of the foregoing, there remains an opportunity to provide a surfactant component including water and an alcohol alkoxylate having a high degree of alkoxylation of greater than 30 moles of alkylene oxide per molecule and that resists gelling and that exhibits excellent performance in dispersing water insoluble components in water.